#UK top brass eye anti-scalping law, bill proposed

UK Member of Parliament Douglas Chapman of the Scottish National Party has recently proposed a bill, titled Gaming Hardware (Automated Purchase and Resale) Bill 2019-2021, which is meant to criminalise scalping activities across the country. This follows an Early Day Motion which was tabled by six SNP MPs in December to discuss legislative proposals “prohibiting the resale of gaming consoles and computer components at prices greatly above Manufacturer’s Recommended Retail Price”, reports VGC.

The bill passed its first stage of reading on 3rd February, in the House of Commons and is yet to be scheduled for the second stage of reading after which it will enter the committee stage for debate and possible amendments.

With global supply chains critically weakened due to scarcity of parts, the gaming hardware industry is struggling to keep up with the ever increasing demand of consoles and computer parts. The competition is stiff among rivals at this crucial juncture, especially when console makers are losing out to influential smartphone giants in procuring semiconductors. Scalpers are using this opportunity to drain retailers of console stocks, aggravating the complication even further.

Despite the bill amassing over 30 signatures from different parties across the house, Chapman remains sceptical of the bill actually becoming a law. But he remains confident that such a move can force the government and the incumbent ministers to ‘take responsibility’.

When asked to comment on the bill proposed, minister of state for digital and culture, Caroline Julia Dinenage said, “Officials are discussing this issue with the trade association for the video games industry.

“We know that bulk purchasing through automated bots is a concern for some of their members who we understand are currently looking at any further actions they can take to prevent these behaviours and are working with their retailers to improve experiences for customers.”

Chapman believes that his bill is analogous with previous legislations passed to prohibit the secondary selling of tickets at higher prices.

“We’ve proposed that a similar legislative process be brought forward to ensure that consumers can purchase gaming consoles and computer components at no more than the manufacturers’ recommended price, and that resale of goods purchased by automated bots be made illegal,” he told Sky News, drawing parallels with earlier laws brought to ban the resale of tickets.

Meanwhile, as chip makers scramble to optimise their distribution to consumer electronics giants, GameStop is expected to restock their console counters in the US today.